RIP Funny Money

My brother, Bart, lost his beloved horse yesterday. I'm so sorry, brother. I love you.

Gracie gets her Quilt....finally.

Amy got a quilt. Danny got a quilt. Jack got a quilt. Then Jess got a quilt. Even this kid got a quilt! 
Awwwwww......poor Gracie. No quilt for her.....wwwwaaaaaaa. At least that's what she thought! Then tada! Auntie comes thru with a quilt....in her favorite colors! YAY!!!!

Oh, Stella, did you really think Auntie wouldn't make you your very own quilt?

Ridin' Along in my Auto-Mobile

 

Me: Here, Sophie, sit up here.... you'll like it !

Sophie: REALLY???REALLY? How did I get stuck in this family? 

No dogs were harmed during the photo-taking of this picture ;) 

Amusement had by all (except maybe by dog).

11!!!

OH!! Where does the time go. This beautiful girl turns 11 today! Oh Gracie girl....you have brought such great joy to my life and I love you so much! Happy, Happy Birthday, Stella!

More Embroidery.....

I traced this flower onto fabric, hand-embroidered it, then colored it in with colored pencils.

Auntie:....the edges are 3 pieces of white ribbon twisted together then zigzag stitched together x's 3 then sewn on to the quilt.....its the 'couching' method.....see this post.

oh and btw....I've had a walking foot for 2 years and have never used it 'cause I didn't get what it was supposed to do then at the quilting retreat one of the ladies noticed some of my art quilt edges were ripply and she said, ..."you should use a walking foot, then your edges will lay nice." DDDUUUHHHH! Thanks, Diane!

and now for your viewing pleasure.....

*Embroidered grapes....

....and my loyal assistant, Sophie Kells.

*I have been dragging this piece of embroidery around with me in my craft bag for oh maybe 2 years. I'd work on it every now and then (in between other pieces) in the car when Chuck drives, at births, etc and I FINALLY finished it. It's a little dark for me but still it turned out OK.

Thread Painting - Cone Flowers

Eric got a car! Eric got a car! Eric got a car!

Oh, did you hear?

ERIC GOT A CAR!!!!!!

Chuck went out with him yesterday and they bought a car. HUGE THANK YOU to my AWESOME husband for helping him get the job done.

Congrats, Eric!

 2007 Mazda 3

Quilt Retreat

It was short but oh so sweet. I drove up to Belmont Wisconsin on Friday to attend the
Quilts by Barb retreat. I met Kim, from Project Quilting and Kim's Crafty Apple and she is just as sweet as I knew she would be. She sat me with herself and her friends and they were super welcoming and fun to hang out with. I wish I could have stayed thru til Monday but needed to come home Saturday night. I'm going to plan to attend next year for sure. Here's a few pics.

 Quilters Paradise above and lots of snacks below :)

They had a small store (above) and several demos (below).

Me and Kim. 

We had a little demo of our own telling the ladies about Project Quilting...which BTW...starts up again in January. WOOHOO!!! Season II won't be as long as the first season. Kim says there will probably be 5-6 challenges. I'm really looking forward to it :)

Amy & Jack

She always was quite the fashionista.

Happy Birthday, little sister!

Happy Birthday, Mary!

OH Baby!!!

Oh, baby, you gave your mom and your nurse such a hard time before you came out! But then, after you were in your powerful mommy's arms, we both cried tears of great joy and thanked God for His merciful hand!

Family